Live From Allure of the Seas

Where in the World is Cruise Critic? From Friday afternoon through Sunday morning, Cruise Critic will be onboard Allure of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, for the first of a series of showcase cruises.

What's All the Fuss About? Allure is the second 225,282-ton, 5,400-passenger Oasis-class ship (Oasis of the Seas debuted with much hoopla last December), and though Allure may be a sister ship, it's certainly no carbon copy. New restaurants include the Boardwalk Dog House for wieners and brats; Rita's Cantina, a gringo Mexican joint; a Guess store; the first Starbucks on a cruise ship; and the Royal Caribbean debut of 3D movies.

Stay Tuned for... Managing Editor John Deiner and Associate Editor Dan Askin will be running around the ship like madmen filing photos and stories from Allure's seven "neighborhoods," which include the foliage-covered Central Park; the Coney Island-style Boardwalk with its wooden carousel, and AquaTheater; and Entertainment Place, complete with comedy club and theater showing 3D movies. Here's how we'll be covering the two-day cruise:

Live Blogging. Deiner and Askin will be providing color commentary on everything from how Allure's Starbucks is not actually the first of its kind at sea (despite RCI's claim to the contrary) to what happens when a cruise ship is transformed into a Hollywood movie set (filming of "Jack and Jill" starring Al Pacino, Adam Sandler and Katie Holmes will be ongoing). Starting tomorrow, you can catch all the stories here.

Contest. How Many Miles Will We Cover on Allure? With pedometers on the hip, Deiner and Askin will be piling up miles while roaming the world's largest cruise ship. And in cruising's version of the "Guess how many jelly beans?" contest, we're asking: How many miles will Deiner and Askin run, walk or climb in two days? Head over to our Facebook page tomorrow and post your guess. Closest to the actual total -- and the pedometers record to two decimal places -- will win some phenomenal Allure swag.

News of the Events. Dreamworks mastermind Jeffrey Katzenberg will be onboard talking about how Shrek, Donkey and a crew of penguins came to inhabit Allure of the Seas' kids club and theater. And should any breaking stories surface -- perhaps one involving Adam Goldstein, Royal Caribbean president and Ping-Pong fiend, suffering a table tennis defeat -- you'll be the first to know.